21 best and most useful JavaScript chart libraries

Each enterprise is inclined to do data analysis when making important decisions. In fact, they often sink into the data and don't know how to jump out of it. With the advent of big data, once-useful tables and charts just don't cut it anymore.

Businesses have been looking for better ways to visualize data, better interact and make charts multi-angled. After all, only the insights extracted from the data are useful.

The JavaScript Chart library appears as the most powerful tool for beautiful, easy-to-understand, interactive visualizations of charts. It makes it easier to extract and communicate key patterns and insights, while static charts are often not obvious.

To make things easier, I tried to dig up a lot of options and find the best JavaScript library you need. So, let's get started.

1. Chartist.js

Chartist's efficient and user-friendly design even attracts people who will feel uncomfortable leaving Excel. The ability to respond (using media queries) and stand-alone DPI means that these charts can provide you with a good solution if you are considering using your chart to include multi-terminal devices for mobile, tablet and desktop computers. SVG-based design makes it more compatible in the future.

Chartist differs from the fact that it is the result of the community, which makes it less restrictive than other chart libraries. Too much attention to trivial changes and full functionality makes it anxious to use other libraries.

protocol: Open source, all users are free to use.

2. Fusioncharts

Fusioncharts brings one of the most comprehensive libraries, with over 90 charts and 900 graphs-all ready for backup. They claim to be the best-looking chart in the industry, providing a powerful experience dashboard through which you can take a bird's eye view of its entire business function.

Fusioncharts is compatible with a variety of devices from PC and MAC computers, IPhone and Android tablets; they do a lot of extra work to ensure cross-browser compatibility, even including ie6!

They also cover all the basic formats--json and XML data formats are acceptable; drawing can be HTML5, SVG, and VML, charts can be exported to png,jpg or PDF format. The fusioncharts extension can be easily integrated with any technology you choose, including jquery,angularjs,php and Rails.

Overall, Fusioncharts has all the features and formatting you need to create beautiful charts and perform rigorous business analysis. And the best part is non-commercial use when you can download it for free and use it without any restrictions.

Source License: non-commercial free, commercial use charges.

3. dygraphs

Dygraphs is an open source JavaScript library that works best for extreme large datasets. It is open-box interactive and can even support mobile phones by scaling.

It is compatible with both mainstream browsers and backwards compatible with IE8. Options and a custom callback feature make it highly configurable.

Agreement: Open Source, free for all users.

4. Chart.js

Chart.js is suitable for small projects, if you need to flatten, clean, elegant, fast. It is a miniature open-source library that minimizes compression after only 11kb size. Including six core chart types (line, column, radar, polar, pie, and doughnut) each is a separate module, so you can even load only the modules you need to maximize the footprint of your code.

It renders the chart using the HTML5 canvas element and runs on IE7/8 with Polyfills compatibility. All charts are responsive.

Agreement: Open Source, free for all users.

5. Google Charts

Google Charts offers a number of different kinds of charts that best meet the needs of data visualization. The chart is based on Html5/svg, which supports VML for compatibility with older versions of IE. All charts are interactive and scalable. You can go and see their chart library. And the best part is that their charts are absolutely free.

Agreement : free, but not open source, the use of their JS file on your server is not allowed by Google's protocol. So if you're a business and have a lot of sensitive data, Google Charts might not be the best option.

6. Highcharts

Highcharts is yet another popular interactive charting library, which, like other libraries, is based on HTML5/SVG/VML, so there is no need to extend the plugin. A wide range of chart types are available, such as graphs, histograms, bar charts, maps, dashboards, etc.

It also provides free access for individual users, online interactive charting interface Highcharts Cloud, commercial use requires purchase authorization.

Agreement: non-commercial use is free and commercial use is paid.

7. Flot

Flot is one of the oldest chart libraries, and revolves around usage simplicity and focusing on interactive features. It is a specific jquery library, which means that you need to use it to familiarize yourself with the underlying jquery. But on the other hand, this means you have full control over presentation, action, and user interaction.

The Flot is compatible with most modern browsers and backwards to IE6. Flot's plug-in library provides many types of graphs, all of which are provided by the community. You can look at these examples made by Flot.

Agreement: Open Source, free for all users.

8. D3.js

D3 is usually the first name that appears when it comes to visualizing data. It is a very powerful open source project that can create amazing visuals and graphics by dynamically updating the DOM. In addition, it uses HTML,CSS and SVG.

It complies with the standards and is cross-browser compatible. Developers tend to like many of the features it brings, such as "entry and exit" and a powerful transition. You can find some examples of D3 here.

It is important to note that it does not have a pre-built chart, and the Instant Learning Basic chart also has a very steep learning curve. But developers are extremely innovative and have developed a lot of D3-based packaging libraries. We will be dealing with some of these leaders later.

Source License: Open source. Free to use.

9. N3-charts

If you are looking for a way to create a simple interactive line diagram under AngularJS, this will be what you need. N3 based on D3.js for small audiences – draws a common line graph based on AngularJS. If you need more chart types, it may not work for you. You can see some examples of N3 line graphs here.

Source License: Open source. Free for all people.

Ten. NVD3

NVD3 is a d3.js project designed to build reusable diagrams and components-it provides the same powerful functionality but is easier to use. It allows you to work with complex datasets to create more advanced visualizations.

Source License: Open source. Free for all people.

Ember Charts

Addepar's developers are steadily advancing the experience of promoting Ember and its affiliated libraries Ember Charts, Ember Tables and Ember Widgets. The Ember Charts provides an easy-to-use, extensible charting suite based on the D3.js and ember.js frameworks.

Robust and elegant – error handling for bad data ensures that the application does not crash when there are strange data. You can even create your own chart type by extending it.

Source License: Open source. Free for all people.

JQuery Sparklines

We've been talking about the weight-type library that can handle everything. But sometimes, what you need is something simpler for a simple task. The JQuery sparklines Plugin provides an appropriate solution. It can be used to generate small, mini-inline charts that are just enough to show trends-requiring only the smallest amount of coding. Applies to most modern browsers including older IE6.

Source License: Open source. Free for all people.

Sigma.js.

When we are in a specific usage scenario, we have to talk about Sigma. Sigma is a powerful JavaScript library that focuses on rendering interactive graphics and web networks.

Sigma's libraries and plug-in packages have a large number of interactive settings. Once you've used Sigma, you'll never find the line graph boring anymore. Take a look at this Sigma.js side-flip demo and you'll see what I mean.

SOURCE License: Open source. Free for all people.

Morris.js.

Yes, as Morris said, good-looking figures should not be difficult to make. Morris is a lightweight library based on JQuery and Raphael that provides simple, clean lines, area charts, bars, and doughnut charts. If you're looking for some quick, simple and elegant libraries, it's definitely worth a try.

Source License: Open source. Free for all people.

Cytoscape.js.

Cytoscape.js is an open-source, full-featured graphics library that is written purely in JavaScript and is completely free based on the lgpl3+ license. It has been highly optimized without external dependencies. Cytoscape.js lets you create reusable graphical tools that can be integrated into your JavaScript code.

It is also compatible with all modern browsers and is compatible with a variety of software frameworks, such as Commonjs and Node.js,amd/require.js,jquery, and Meteor/atmosphere. Note that although it has the same name as the Cyctoscape desktop app, they are completely different.

Source License: free. Free for all people.

C3.js.

C3.js is another D3-based, reusable chart library. A lot of D3-based charting tools show that too many people like D3, but it also reflects the dislike of using D3 direct coding.

C3.js provides a different approach to the D3 learning curve, which wraps the code needed to build the entire diagram. C3 allows you to create custom classes so that you can build your own style. It provides a number of APIs and callbacks so that you can update the chart after the first rendering.

Source License: Open source. Free for all people.

Rickshaw.

Rickshaw was developed in Shutterstock as a toolkit for building time series diagrams. Like some of the other tools we've discussed, Rickshaw is based on the D3 library. It is open and open source (following the MIT license).

You can see some interesting examples of rickshaw here. Rickshaw's numerous extensions and custom features allow you to generate beautiful time series diagrams.

SOURCE License: Open source. Free for all people.

Cubism.js.

Cubism may be the best D3 plugin for displaying time series. What makes it stand out from the crowd? You can introduce data from multiple sources, such as Graphite, Cube, and others, to create awesome real-time charts to showcase your data.

It is able to render increments, using a Canvas to offset the chart one pixel at a time. Cubism's level chart makes better use of vertical space than standard floor plans, allowing you to get more data at the moment and increase the likelihood of a glance.

Source License: Open source. Free for all people.

Plottable.js.

Plottable has taken a number of approaches that are different from the D3 framework. It already has a pluggable set of modular components that encapsulate the rendering logic. This forms a separate layout engine for actual positioning.

This means that you can use any plottable component and add it to an existing chart, or use Plottable to create a brand new one. It basically gives you the power of D3 in a more modular, plug-and-play manner. These examples allow you to look at the capabilities of plottable.

Source License: Open source. Free for all people.

Canvas.js.

As the name implies, Canvas.js is a html5--javascript chart library, based on the Canvas element. Canvas allows you to create fully responsive and cross-device rich charts. In addition, it has many good-looking themes that claim to be 10 times times faster than traditional Flash-and SVG-based graphs.

Source License: non-commercial free, commercial use charges.

Echarts.js/enterprise Charts Commercial Product Chart Gallery

Source License: Open source. Free for all people. Hosted on GitHub.

Summarize

The visualization and analysis of data is an important part of today's business processes. Companies, large and small, need a concise, efficient and interactive way to interpret data. This makes it especially important to choose a library of JavaScript icons that suits your needs.

Derivative libraries like fusioncharts,googlecharts,dygraphs or D3 may be better suited for businesses that handle large amounts of data, or small companies that rely heavily on data analysis. If you only need some small and fast libraries, morris.js or chart.js may be better for you. For graphics and networks, Cytoscape or sigma.js may be a better choice.

I try to include the best tools here, but I believe you also have your favorites. By the way, please. Which is your favorite JS chart library, and why? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

This article originally published in Oschina, the article content belongs to the author individual viewpoint, does not represent this station position.

Copyright NOTICE: This article for Bo Master original article, without Bo Master permission not reproduced.

21 best and most useful JavaScript chart libraries